Starting a Case

Anyone 18 years of age or over can sue in Small Claims Court.
If you are younger than 18, your parent or guardian may sue
on your behalf. Only an individual can sue in Small Claims
Court. Corporations, partnerships, associations, or assignees
cannot sue in Small Claims Court. However, they can be sued
in Small Claims Court. If you are a corporation, partnership,
association or assignee, you can bring a Commercial Claim
or Consumer Transaction. For more information, click on Commercial
Claims and Consumer Transactions.

In general, the person suing is called the claimant. The
person being sued is called the defendant. You may sue more
than one person at the same time.

You must be the proper person to sue in Small Claims Court.
For example, if you are involved in an accident while driving
an automobile that is not registered in your name, you cannot
sue for the damage caused to the automobile during the accident.
Only the registered owner of the automobile can sue for the
damages caused to the automobile.

To learn more about bringing a Small Claims Court case, continue
reading below. You can also read the law on this procedure,
by clicking on Civil Court Act section
1803.

Where to
Sue: Venue

A claimant must begin the lawsuit in the proper county. In general, a claimant can sue in the county where either party resides. If no party resides within the City, the action can be brought in the county where either party has employment or a business address. If the defendant does not have a residence, employment, or have a business address within the City of New York, you cannot bring the lawsuit in the Small Claims Court. To find the location in your county, click on Locations.

Starting
the Case

To begin an action in Small Claims Court, a person, or someone
acting on his or her behalf, must come to the Small Claims
Court Clerk’s office in the proper county and fill out
a statement of claim. To find out where the clerk’s
office is located in your county, click on Locations.
To find out when the Small Claims Court Clerk’s office
is open, click on Court Hours.
You may also use an outside service to fill out your statement
of claim and electronically file it with the Court. If you
are interested in starting your case this way, click on electronic
filing.

The person filling out the statement of claim must be able
to explain the reason for the lawsuit, know the amount of
the claim, and have the correct name and address, including
zip code, of the person or business that is being sued.
If you are not sure of the correct name of the business,
you should go to the County Clerk’s office in the
county where the business is located and look up the certificate
of doing business, photocopy the certificate and bring it
to the court. The person filling out the statement of claim
must be able to explain the reason for the lawsuit, know
the amount of the claim, and have the correct name and address,
including zip code, of the person or business that is being
sued. If you are not sure of the correct name of the business,
you should go to the County Clerk’s office in the county
where the business is located and look up the certificate
of doing business, photocopy the certificate and bring it
to the court. View and print the small claims claim form.

You will have to pay the court fee to file your claim. If
your claim is for an amount up to and including $1,000.00,
there is a fee of $15.00. If your claim is for an amount over
$1,000.00 and up to $5,000.00, there is a fee of $20.00. The
fee must be paid by cash, certified check, money order or
bank check made out to "Clerk of the Civil Court."
Personal checks will not be accepted.

The clerk will give you a date for the hearing. Small Claims
Court hearings are usually held at 6:30 p.m. If you are a
senior citizen, a disabled person, or a person who works during
the evening, you may request that your small claims hearing
be heard during the day. You or the person appearing on your
behalf must show proof of age, or disability, or nighttime
employment. The proof can be in the form of a letter from
your job or from a doctor, a driver’s license showing
your birth date, or other similar documents.

If you live outside the City of New York and want to sue
a party within the City of New York, you may file your claim
by mail. Contact the Small Claims Court Clerk’s office
in the county where the defendant lives, works or has a place
of business to obtain the necessary form.

Electronic Filing

The court system does not provide electronic filing at this
time. However, several private vendors provide this service.
The service provided by each of the vendors is different,
and you must review their requirements. We advise that you
review this entire website, as it offers a lot of information
on how to proceed with your case.

After your claim is filed, the Small Claims Court clerk will serve a notice
of your claim by sending it to the defendant. The notice of
claim tells the defendant when to appear in Small Claims Court,
and includes a brief statement of your claim and the amount
of money you are requesting.

The notice of your claim will be sent to the defendant by
certified mail and by ordinary first class mail. If the notice
sent by ordinary first class mail is not returned by the post
office within 21 days as undeliverable, the defendant is presumed
to have received notice of your claim, even if the notice
of claim sent by certified mail has not been delivered.

If the post office cannot deliver the notice of your claim
(for example, the defendant may have moved without leaving
a forwarding address), the court clerk will give you a new
hearing date and will tell you how to arrange for personal
delivery of the notice to the defendant. Anyone who is not
a party to the small claim and who is 18 years of age or older
can personally deliver the notice of claim to the defendant.
The claimant or any other party to the action may not serve
the notice of claim personally on the defendant.

If the notice of claim cannot be served on the defendant
within 4 months after you filed your claim, your claim will
be dismissed. If you learn new information about the defendant’s
location at a later date, you can file your claim again.

A small claims case will not proceed to trial until the defendant
has been served with a notice of your claim.

Before the date of the hearing, you should gather all the evidence that supports
your claim or your defense. Evidence may include: photographs,
a written agreement, an itemized bill or invoice marked "paid,"
receipts, at least two itemized written estimates of the cost
of services or repairs, a canceled check, a damaged item or
article of clothing, or letters or other written documents.
If there are records that are not in your possession, you
may wish to subpoena them to be produced at the hearing date. For information about
this procedure, click on Subpoenas.

You should also prepare any witnesses you plan to testify at the hearing in support of your claim or defense. The testimony
of a person who has special or expert knowledge and experience
concerning the subject of your claim may be necessary for
you to prove your case. For example, if your claim involves
the quality of medical care, you must find a doctor who is
willing to give an opinion, in court, about the quality of
the care you received. While you might find an expert witness
who will testify at no cost to you, it is more likely that
you will have to pay for an expert witness testimony.

If a witness, other than an expert witness, will not testify
voluntarily, you can serve the witness with a subpoena requiring them to appear in court
and testify. For information on how to do this, click on Subpoenas.